Our Absolute Best Shrimp Recipes
From dumplings to curry to flame-licked satay, these are our favorite ways to cook the most versatile shellfish.
The average American consumes roughly 15 pounds of fresh seafood each year—and a whopping third of that is shrimp. We just can’t get enough of the sweet, juicy crustaceans, whether they’re bobbing in a pot of gumbo, swaddled in a corn tortilla, or stir-fried with noodles in pad thai or lo mein.
A weeknight pinch hitter, shrimp cooks in mere minutes. All that’s standing between you and a satisfying shellfish feast is some straightforward prep work—we’re partial to shelling, deveining, and doing a quick dry-brine—before diving into whatever recipe you’re craving. The following dishes, culled from decades of shrimp infatuation, are our absolute favorites.
In China, this combination of shrimp, scallops, and crab is a special-occasion dumpling filling. The clean flavor and meaty texture of the shellfish are unobscured by any filler. Get the recipe >
Flavored with wine and aromatics, this broth features red yuzu kosho, a Japanese condiment made from citrus, yuzu, and chiles. Get the recipe >
Heaps of ground spices and rich coconut cream make this surf-and-turf stew worthy of a banquet—even if it’s easy enough to whip up on a weeknight. Get the recipe >
Juicy spiced shrimp round out this refreshing salad of al dente buckwheat, quinoa, and citrus. Get the recipe >
Bittersweet satsuma, a citrus fruit native to Louisiana, brightens these pickled shrimp, which get extra oomph from Korean chile flakes. Get the recipe >
This funky and complex shrimp stir-fry owes its deep flavor to Cantonese-style XO sauce, an umami bomb made with dried shellfish and chiles. Get the recipe >
Carrot juice is the secret ingredient in this refreshing shrimp salad dressed with warm, gingery white miso vinaigrette. Get the recipe >
This is paella like you’ve (probably) never seen it before—with sticky rice, coconut milk, and handfuls of chopped scallions. Get the recipe >
Creamy, tangy remoulade is the perfect foil for plump shrimp. Get the recipe >
This craveable pad thai recipe comes from Thai-food eminence Andy Ricker. He perfected it, so you don’t have to. Get the recipe >
Rundown is a coconut milk-based Jamaican stew popular throughout the Caribbean. In this reinterpretation, a stock of shrimp shells makes a bisque-like sauce that’s used to dress fresh pasta. Get the recipe >
When you can’t look at another plain avocado toast without yawning, make this Danish open-face sandwich crowned with chilled shrimp. Get the recipe >
The crunchy, spicy Chinatown staple is surprisingly easy to reproduce at home. Get the recipe >
“Some of my best memories of living in Baton Rouge or visiting my mother in New Orleans were walking into a friend's house to find a mess of still-steaming peel-and-eat shrimp,” says My America: Recipes from a Young Black Chef author Kwame Onwuachi. “Smothered in house spice, sweetened with garlic, and silky with melted butter, they burst with flavor with every bite.” Get the recipe >
Ground candlenuts mellow out this spicy shrimp satay that hails from coastal Singapore. Get the recipe >
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